No council cash for new free schools in Manchester

Manchester City Council is refusing to budget for three of the four free schools due to open in the city this September. From this year, councils have to pay for free schools from the moment they open, even if they are not established as a result of a “basic need” identified by local officials. Free schools that opened following a successful application through the government’s central application process used to be funded directly by the Education Funding Agency for their first year, protecting councils from the impact of under-subscription. But the funding shake-up and fears about the viability of three of the four free schools approved for 2017 has prompted Manchester education bosses to refuse to put aside any cash. The council says it “does not intend” to budget for the schools In a document submitted to the area’s Schools Forum, and seen by Schools Week, the council says it “does not intend” to budget for the schools “due to the high level of uncertainty that schools will not be in a position to open in September due to sites not being acquired to date”. The council claims it has not received funding for a new 210-place free secondary school…http://schoolsweek.co.uk/no-council-cash-for-new-free-schools-in-manchester/